The slugger, who was confident all along he would make his disabled list date, was back in the starting lineup and batting third on Sunday afternoon after just one rehab game, and he finished 2-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in the Orioles' 5-2 loss to the Astros.

"When I talked to Dr. [Michael] Jacobs, I said I was surprised the news was as bad as it was because I didn't feel as bad as the news was, if that makes any sense," Davis said of his left oblique strain. "I'm happy things went the way they did."

Davis went 1-for-4 for Double-A Bowie on Saturday morning and played all nine innings at first base before driving back to Baltimore to plead his case to manager Buck Showalter. Davis said he felt no discomfort when he woke up on Sunday morning.

"My adrenaline was going pretty good last night," Davis said. "Little overanxious my first few at-bats, but I felt good. Biggest thing was seeing how I felt after swinging and sitting in between innings and not being able to stretch or get hot before I went up to the plate. I felt good, felt normal and I was open with [Buck] about it last night."

Davis' return is a big boost to an Orioles club that has already been without Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy for parts of the season and placed Matt Wieters on the DL prior to Sunday's game to clear a roster spot for Davis. Davis has hit .250 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 22 games this season.

"If you live in that world where woe is me and the sky is falling, it's harder in the American League because sometimes you have a tendency for guys to sit around for a while," Showalter said of the injuries his first-place club has already dealt with.

"Who's to say that other guys can't become everyday players? The big evaluation challenge for us in the industry is you get a lot of guys that are really good come to the rescue, and all of a sudden, the water parts, and I think they can become an everyday player, and you expect them to make the jump. 'You expect me to do this every day?' Really. There's a place for both of those."